NA/EU LCS Summer Split Playoff Preview

It is that time ladies and gentlemen. The 2015 Summer split playoffs are upon us. The top 6 teams of each region will do battle in order to have the right to claim the Summer split championship and a place at this years World Championship. Let’s break down the match-ups and bracket.

EU LCS SUMMER SPLIT PLAYOFF BRACKET

The perfect season by Fnatic easily clinched them the number 1 seed and a first round bye. Origen, in their debut split, put up an impressive display for the majority of the season and earned themselves the number 2 seed and a first round bye as well. The top seeds will await the winners of the quarterfinal games.

(3) H2K vs (6) Giants Gaming

The first quarterfinal in EU will be between two teams that have had a really tough time in the back half of the split after strong starts in the first half. H2k started the split with an impressive record of 7-1. They had a really tough time finishing the split off with a record of 4-6 record in the final 10 games. H2k are 0-4 against the top two seeds this split, so even if they do manage to make it past the first round, it is not looking promising at this point. H2K finished in 3rd place in the Spring and I’m predicting the same in the Summer. Enough on H2k, what about Giant’s summer split. This team was abysmal in the Spring split and finished in 9th place. Bringing in GODFRED at the support position really improved the team and helped them get off to a flying start. Like H2K, Giants started off strong and bolted to the top of the table with a 4-1 record in their first 5 games. They then lost 5 out of the next 6 games and dropped down the standings dramatically. Finishing with an 8-11 (including tiebreaker) record is not impressive at all, but it is enough to make the playoffs as the number 6 seed in EU this split. Although this team has come a long way from the Spring split, I do not see them advancing past H2K in this series. H2k won both games during the season against Giants, and I see that streak continuing next Saturday.

(4) Unicorns of Love vs (5) ROCCAT

Our second quarterfinal over in EU will be a battle of two inconsistent teams that actually have enough talent to get to the finals. The 4th seeded Unicorns of Love once again finish with a 9-9 record They will need to pull out some more best of 5 magic in these playoffs. This team has said all split that they are a different beast when it comes to best of 5’s, but with a new jungler for the playoffs this time around, it could be an underwhelming beast. ROCCAT have had a very unpredictable split. They’ve beaten the likes of H2K and Origen, then lose to the likes of SK gaming and Copenhagen Wolves. They finished the split 9-10 (including tiebreaker) and managed to snag the 5th seed on the last day of the split. Steve has improved over the split and isn’t a blaring weakness to the team anymore. Nukeduck will have to perform at his highest level in order for ROCCAT to advance to the semi finals where they would do battle with the gods of Fnatic. I predict a very close series with many surprises, but I do believe the Unicorns will pull out the 3-2 series win and advance.

NA LCS SUMMER SPLIT PLAYOFF BRACKET

Unlike EU, the NA standings were extremely close at the top of the table. The final tiebreaker on the last day earned Team Liquid the number 1 seed and CLG the number 2 seed. Both teams will be extremely grateful for their byes, but they have some challenging games ahead of them.

(3) Team Impulse vs (6) Team Dignitas

The first quarterfinal in NA will be between the flashy Team Impulse and the conservative Team Dignitas. These teams split the season series 1-1, but their play down the stretch are completely different. Team Impulse finished the 2nd half of the split on an absolute tear. They went 8-1 in the final 9 games, and destroyed Gravity in the tiebreaker game. If not for that loss on the last day to Team Liquid in probably the game of the season, Impulse may have very well been the number 1 seed. Instead they find themselves dueling with Team Dignitas, a team that has not looked great during the 2nd half of the split. Dignitas were 7-2 heading into the halfway point of the season, but a 3-6 record to close the split out leaves everyone with a sour taste about this team. Even with XiaoWeiXiao being suspended and Gate stepping in the mid lane for Team Impulse, I do not think Dignitas can win a best of 5 against them. I think Rush and Impact will continue to dominate the top half of the map and carry TiP to a 3-1 series win over Dignitas.

(4) Gravity vs (5) TSM

The final quarterfinal that is set for next Sunday will be between two squads that looked really bad in the final two weeks of the split. Gravity and TSM split the season series 1-1, but Gravity looked the better team in both matches. However, Gravity in the last 2 weeks look more like a bottom tier team. Gravity loss to Dignitas, barely beat Team 8, loss to Team Impulse twice (once in tiebreaker) and also league’s worst team TDK. The tie breaker against Team Impulse was one of the most lopsided games of the split. Gravity might of lost all of their confidence going into a best of 5 setting against the Spring split champs of TSM. TSM has said all season long, that their work has been for best of 5’s. Now is the time for TSM to actually prove that they are a title contending team. TSM stated during the final couple of weeks that they did not care about seeding, and were just practicing champions and compositions during games to ready them for playoffs. TSM has plenty of confidence in best of 5 scenarios, which Gravity has failed to excel in. I’m predicting a 3-1 win in this quarterfinal for TSM. If these predictions hold true, some fantastic semi final games are in store. TSM will look to repeat their Spring split title when it all comes to an end.

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